Marine mammals

Marine mammals:

Barkley Sound is home to a large range of marine mammals. We regularly see Humpback whales, Transient (Biggs) orca, Grey whales, sea lions (Stellar and California) and Harbour seals. Occasionally we see Sea otters and Minke whales.

Marine mammals: Humpback whale tail

marine mammals: sea lions

Our main activities around marine mammals is for the BC Cetacean Sighting Network. Throughout the year we report sightings of whales, turtles and otters.

Rendezvous Dive Adventures is also a First Responder for the BC Marine Mammal Response Network. This network of volunteers reports any marine mammal that is harassed, sick, injured or deceased to a hotline. Whales have been rescued from entanglement in nets and other fishing gear. Injured mammals like sea lions have been rescued in co-operation with the Marine Mammal Rescue Program from the Vancouver Aquarium. We have also donated images which were used in the recent manual for the BC Marine Mammal Response Network.

Incidental sightings of branded sea lions, elephant seals and other unusual marine mammals are logged and reported to a variety of scientists.

Marine mammals branded sea lion

We work closely with DFO. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or DFO for short, is Canada’s ministry responsible for the use of aquatic resources as well as the making, implementation and enforcement of regulations. Over the years many controversial decisions have been taken and we certainly do not agree with everything that DFO does or stands for. HOWEVER there are many important programs that merit our support and in return we receive support for some of our programs.